U.S. urges Cambodia's rivals to talk ahead of polls

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

|Reuters

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A U.S. rights envoy on Tuesday urged Cambodia's political rivals to return to negotiations amid a "deteriorating situation" after opposition party members and activists have been jailed on charges they say were trumped up by the government.

Tom Malinowski, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told reporters that the Cambodian government should ensure judicial fairness as attention turns to local and general elections in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

"Both sides have responsibilities, both sides would need to be willing to compromise to make difficult decisions," Malinowski said, adding that the jailings were directed at critics of the government.

The gap between Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party and the revamped opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was narrowed in a disputed 2013 election that sparked a year-long parliamentary crisis.